His return
by darkuriel
Summary: Shin Malphur left the Tower three hundred years ago and is quite content to fight the Darkness his own way but a newly revived Guardian forces him back to the tower and from there, he gets dragged along besides her on her journey against the dark. Rated T for language
1. Chapter 1

**North America, Western dead zone, Los Angeles**

It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining and the sky was clear of clouds and Fallen skiffs. Shin Malphur sat on the roof as some building along the coast and had fantastic view of the ocean. His long legs hanged over the edge as the gentle breeze swept his long brown hair out of his face. His favorite hand cannon and sniper rifle rested with in arms reach while his sword remained strapped to his waist. His golden eyes scanned the horizon lazily.

"We've got trouble." His Ghost said, breaking the silence. Shin sighed and stood up, the golden wolf head on his chest sparked in the sunlight. He bent over to grab his hand cannon and slipped it into its leg holster while he grabbed his rifle and slung it over his shoulder. Shin tapped his temple and his helmet, strange piece of armor that was called the Unyielding Casque.

"What is it this time?" he asked. There was a quick whirring sound before Ghost responded.

"There seems to be a source of Light approaching, not a guardian."

Shin walked to the opposite edge and looked over the edge. His helmet enhanced his vison to an almost unnatural degree, he blinked and his helmet made it so the Light showed up off in the distance.

"Any idea what it is?" Shin asked as he took a step back and with a single step leapt off the building.

"By the looks of it, I'd say it was a ghost."

Activating his jet pack a few feet before he smashed into the ground, Shin bounced back up before landing on his feet silently. Still looking at the Light, Shin took a quick judge of the distance that separated him and the Light.

"Two miles." He said absently. Even before he finished, there was the slight zapping sound that told him to look down. Hovering at waist level was his Evo Tumbler, waiting for him. Casting a suspicious look to the top right corner of his visor, Shin mounted his sparrow. Hitting the accelerator then boast, he shot forward at an incredible speed.

"What would a ghost be doing this far from the Tower?" Shin asked as he expertly weaved from the rusting vehicles on the deserted motorway.

"Don't know. Let's ask when we get there." Shin grunted and fell silent as he concentrated on not hitting the cars. The distance shrank rapidly and something began rubbing Shin the wrong way. He couldn't put a finger on the reason but there was something that was putting him on edge. 1000 meters…700 meters.

"Revival sequence detected!" Ghost shouted. Shin cursed in three different languages as his feeling got worse. The last thing he needed was a newborn Guardian to deal with.

"Summon the ship, and sent a message to Cayde that I'm coming with a delivery." Shin growled as he swerved into a narrow alley and nearly scrapped his sparrow. After several life threatening turns and a few low hanging bars, Shin blasted out onto another motor way and pulled hard on the brakes. Leaping off the sparrow, Shin quickly checked his tracker for any life signs. Luckily it was just the one.

"twenty three meters to the north." Ghost said and Shin whirled to the left and took off. It was mere seconds before Shin found a brand new warlock standing between abandoned cars.

"it had to be a warlock." Shin said in annoyance before he could stop himself.

Vienna blinked repeatedly as her vision cleared. She could hear something talking but she couldn't make out what it was saying. The first thing she saw was her fingers; giving them an experimental flex, Vienna found that they reacted perfectly.

"Guardian, we need to get moving Guardian." Vienna looked up at a strange floating…thing. It had a single blue eye and weird looking spikes that rotated randomly. She raised her arms and took a couple steps forward; nothing seemed wrong except the fact that she couldn't remember anything except her name.

"Guardian, this place dangerous and we need to leave." The floating thing said, "Hold still."

The thing flew forward and disappeared right before it hit Vienna.

"Don't worry, I'm still hear." The thing's voice said in her head, "We need to leave. We're a long way from the Tower and we'll be sitting ducks out here."

"What's a duck?" She asked. There was a quiet whir but no response. She took another step forward and wobbled slightly; throwing her arms out to steady herself.

"It had to be a Warlock." A deep voice, rumbling like thunder said. Vienna looked up and the first thing she saw was the golden wolf head. Vienna wondered why she knew it was a wolf. The next was the four armed creature standing not too far behind the man.

"Fallen." The thing shouted. The new person whipped around and a single gunshot echoed off the buildings. Vienna looked in awe as the now headless creature slumped forward onto the ground.

"Come on. My ship is on the way. These Devils won't take to kindly to our presence." The man said as he grabbed her hand and took off, dragging her along. They ran in relative silence for a few moments before a piercing howl could be heard.

"And there's Vel'nok." The man said. It was probably just Vienna but he sounded really annoyed with something. Vienna shot a look back to see dozen of those creatures led by a particularly massive creature that looked similar.

"Who's that?" She asked.

"That's Vel'nok, Kell of the House of Devils. He doesn't like me." The man said, not breaking his stride. Vienna looked up at the rooftops as she heard another howl. Another creature stood there holding a nasty looking gun.

"Who's that?" the man looked up in the same direction and cursed in…Latin. Again how did she know that?

"That's Zenoral, the Devil Baroness, she doesn't like me."

Vienna nodded thoughtfully. What has this man done to earn this kind of hatred? She didn't have time to consider it more as the man skidded to a halt and stared at the large rectangular vehicle that blocked their path. More howls filled the air. Vienna looked at the rooftops on the opposite side and pointed.

"Who are they?" the man growled at her and pulled a pistol from somewhere and handed it to her.

"Let's just assume that everyone doesn't like me." The man grabbed the rifle off his back and looked through the sights at the creatures on the roof tops. Vienna leaned to the side to see past the hood and found that he wore a strange golden helmet; she was surprised, his voice didn't sound like it came from some sort of speaker but wrote it off as another oddity she's faced since waking up. She looked down at the weapon in her hand and studied it for a moment.

It was a beautiful revolver but bigger. Gold and black with golden engravings; Vienna could practically feel the lethality radiating from the gun. She looked up at the man and stared at him.

"What am I supposed to down with this?" the resulting sigh made her feel stupid and worthless.

"Shot it." right after he said those words, there was a loud bang and the make rocked on his heels. Vienna followed the barrel and saw a headless body fall from the roof tops. Vienna looked back at the man, jaw slack as he took another shot. She refused to turn and see the headless body fall.

"Who are you?"

"We're about to be overrun and you want to chat?" he asked.

"Well we can't chat after we've been horribly killed, can we?" She shot back. The man remained silent as he took two more shots and reloaded.

"Names Shin Malphur. You?" If Vienna heard right then there was some admiration in his voice.

"Vienna. No second name, sorry." The man laughed at her. Vienna looked over to the creatures and saw their ranks had thinned out considerably. The only ones left were the first large creature, the Baroness and the other two creatures on the roof tops. She raised the gun and sighted for the largest of the creatures but a hand gently pushed the gun back down. She looked at Shin's mask confused.

"They got the message. And besides, our ride is here." 


	2. Chapter 2

Vienna slumped down to the floor after another grueling sparring match with Shin. He stood a couple feet away in loose pants looking down at her. Despite his bare chest or his rippling muscles, the real thing that captured her attention was his unusual eyes. Unlike her eyes which were white, red than a black dot; Shin's eyes were solid black except a wide ring of shining gold.

"Come, your spinning kick is a little slow." He said. Vienna groaned; out of the seventeen hours they've been flying, sixteen and half of them were physical training. She had learned very quickly that Shin Malphur was as deadly as he looked.

"My spinning kick could separate a Dreg's head from its body, why must I be able to hurt you with it?" She groaned. Shin chuckled at her and walked over to kneel before her. Vienna looked deep into those black and gold eyes; she could almost see the years spent in the wilderness, surviving on his own, facing unbelievable odds and making it through.

"The enemies I'm training you for are not minions of the Darkness but those who inhabit the Tower and bleed their poison all over other Guardians." His words had an ominous tone to them and Vienna could feel the loaded meaning even if she didn't understand it.

"If the Tower is sanctuary to my kind, then why would enemies be allowed in?" It was a naïve question, she knew that but the answer had her full curiosity. The golden rings thinned a fraction as his face hardened.

"The best way to serve the Light is to know the darkness of your own shadow." Vienna didn't get time to reply before he had stood up and walked away. She watched him disappear into one of the hallways and offhandedly marveled the size of his ship.

"What do you think he meant?" her ghost asked as he appeared by her head. The robot waited patiently for her answer even when he knew that she didn't have one. That man infuriatingly confusing; somethings he said made perfect sense then the next instant he's speaking in riddles.

"Not a clue. You?" She left her head fall to the side as she looked at her ghost. The robot rotated his spikes a couple times and was silent for extended amount of time.

"My guess is the Consensus factions and that he doesn't trust them."

Vienna sighed; she couldn't wait to arrive at the Tower and meet all her fellow Guardian but she also didn't want to leave the protection this man provided. Always a mystery that man will be to her and one she wished would solve itself. She groaned as she picked herself up and followed Shin to the cockpit where his ghost flew the ship.

Shin looked at the Tower as it grew bigger and bigger. It's been nearly three hundred years since he left the tower and made his own path through the Darkness. The only person there who would recognize him would probably the Speaker and even to him, Shin was just a legend; a hero who vanished. His left hand fell to the handle of his sword and Shin felt all that he lost back then, swirling in the blade.

"Do you plan on coming with me to the Tower?" Vienna asked as she walked in and took the copilot seat. Shin spared her a glance; over the last sixteen or so hours the warlock managed to achieve a level of physical strength that took most Titans years to achieve. Even more interesting was the Shin could practically feel the strength of her Light rolling off her, in almost suffocating waves.

"No." He said, turning back to flying his ship. Four hundred fifty yards away and Shin knew that there was no way he'd step foot on the Tower unless his ship blew up.

 _Careful what you wish for_

Shin was knocked out of his seat as something blasted through the hull of his ship. Bouncing to his feet in an instant, Shin bolted through the door towards the sound of rushing air. As he ran his gear appeared on his body and his head was encased in his helmet. The door to the cargo hold was gone and Shin could see the hydrogen turbine some twenty feet away. Floating about ten feet in front of him was a Spectra; a scout of sorts.

" _Who are you?_ " Shin asked in a language far older than humanity. The glowing red eyes of the shadowy being turned to him then narrowed; Shin barely dodged the bolt of darkness as it blasted by him. the rattle of the ship and the howl of the wind told Shin that his ship had another hole in it. He retaliated by summoning the Darkness that he had absorbed centuries ago and blasted the Spectra.

"We've entered the Tower's immediate defense field." Ghost said in his head. Great, just utterly fantastic; Shin would have to take this fight off the ship before the Tower detected the Spectra's darkness and his own.

Darkness engulfed Shin's body like a raging fire and with two steps to build enough momentum; Shin tackled the Spectra. The Spectra howled and clawed at him but his armor simply burned the being wherever it touched.

" _Who are you?"_ Shin asked again as he focused on keeping a hold on the Spectra's form; dragging it farther and farther away from the newborn Guardian.

" _We are the instruments of His return; this world shall be the bed on which He rises and retakes that which is His!"_ the being roared and Shin smirked. Spectra's were intelligent and fiercely loyal to whomever they served but they do have moments where they are completely gullible.

"Thank you, now you may die." Shin grinned as he kicked the Spectra away and in one smooth motion drew his blade and engulfed the Spectra in harsh blinding light that consumed all. In the next second, Shin slid the blade back into the scabbard and the Light, his Light, was locked away in the blade. Shin spun around to see his ship was smoking and almost to the Tower.

"Ghost, that transmat would be welcome right now."

The quiet chuckle in his head told him that Ghost heard that entire conversation. The crackle of energy signaled that Ghost had caught his vital signature and a second later teleported him to the ship.

"Calm down, Vienna, Shin Malphur has survived far worse things than a two thousand foot drop." Shin's ghost said in a calm voice as Vienna tried to get the ship to turn around and catch him but the ship grew ever closer to the Tower.

"How can you just leave him?!"Vienna snapped as she wretched a lever from the dashboard.

"Hey!" Vienna spun around in her seat to see Shin walk in and sit down in his seat. Vienna noticed that he was in his armor and his helmet was still on.

"I would appreciate it if you didn't rip my ship apart. There's already enough damage to her and you're not helping."

Vienna just stared at him as he expertly flew the ship around the Tower and into the landing bay. There were several hisses and a loud thud that told Vienna they had landed. Shin stood up and motioned for her to join him as he walked out of the cockpit.

"Are they okay with us landing here?" Vienna asked as the two of them walked down the corridor leading to the cargo bay.

"If they weren't, we'd be dead." Shin said simply. Vienna opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out as she saw that at the end of the corridor was not the cargo bay but a gaping hole in the side of the ship. Shin nimbly hopped off and Vienna stood there marveling at the damage.

"Come on, there's some people here to see us." Shin's voice broke her revelry. Vienna hopped down next to Shin and turned to see a rather large group of people had gathered in front of them. The first thing she noticed was the number of guns pointed at them; the majority of the people had some kind of rifle pointed at them while the three closest people stood there with their arms crossed.

"I take it you three are the current Vanguard." Shin stated in a flat voice. Vienna glanced at him and saw that his right hand rested on the handle of his hand cannon. Suddenly, Vienna could feel the tension and how thick it was. Vienna could sense the collective power from all the people didn't even compare the mere presence of Shin. She could sense the promise of certain death should anyone twitch in a way he didn't like.

"Enough, Zavala." The Exo Hunter said as he stepped forward. Shin remained as the Exo drew closer and stopped just out of arms reached. The Exo's blue optical receptors bore into Shin as the very air stilled between the two of them.

Vienna didn't even see them move but somehow Shin was in the Exo's guard with his hand cannon pressed to the Exo's forehead and the Exo's hand cannon was pointed where Shin used to be.

"Impressive." The Exo said as he stepped back, holstering his weapon. Shin lowered his weapon but Vienna knew that he would still kill the Exo without the slightest hint of hesitation.

"Mind telling us who you are?" the Exo prodded.

"This is Vienna, a guardian, I picked up in Los Angeles. Figured I'd give her a ride and as you can see, I need some repairs done to my ship."

The Exo nodded and a dark skinned woman stepped forward, "What were you doing in Los Angeles, Guardian?"

It took a couple seconds for Vienna to realize that the woman was talking to her. Vienna shrugged and the woman stared at her coldly before turning to Shin.

"You didn't answer the question. Who are you?"

"No one of consequence." Shin answered. The Awoken Titan stepped forward and invaded Shin's personal space.

"Give us one reason why we shouldn't kill you right now."

Vienna suppressed the urge to step away from the Titan. He exuded power and strength and Vienna did not want to get caught between those two. She sensed something strange bubbling inside Shin; it was something deadly…dark; it filled Shin's body and rolled off of him in palpable waves.

"Zavala!" the woman nearly shouted but the Titan was thrown back by an invisible force. The Exo hunter dashed forward with a wicked knife in his hand. Shin caught the Hunter's wrist and slammed his open palm into the Exo's chest. The Hunter flew back and joined the Titan on the floor. The woman didn't move but there was a dark purple ball in her palm and she eyed Shin carefully.

"Who are you?" the woman said. Vienna looked past her to see that the Titan and Hunter were picking themselves up while everyone else had a gun pointed at Shin. Without thinking, Vienna planted herself in front of Shin.

"His name is Shin Malphur and he saved me from the House of Devil before bringing me here." Vienna shouted. The power Shin was exuding nearly vanished but still lingered menacingly.

"Why did you say my name?" Shin asked. Vienna felt like an idiot, she was standing in front of a guy nearly a foot taller than her with over twenty guns pointed at her and a woman with a ball of something in her hand.

"Three hundred years Malphur. It took you three hundred years to come back to us." A new voice said. Vienna looked past the group and a masked man in a white robe walked towards them.

"I'm not planning on staying, so don't get too excited." Shin growled over her shoulder. The Guardians parted before this man as he walked straight up to Vienna and Shin. Vienna sensed an ancient power inside this man; this man was an old soul in every sense of the phrase.

"Come and rest, Malphur. Three hundred years in the Darkness is enough to make any Guardian weary and tired."

Vienna tilted her head to the side; Shin was a Guardian? Sure all the signs were there; the ghost, the knowledge to train any type of Guardian and this armor but Vienna would never say Shin was a Guardian. He lacked something that made a Guardian a Guardian.

"I'm not a Guardian anymore, Speaker. All I need is my ship repaired, and then I'll be on my way."

The Speaker motioned for the woman, "Ikora, take the young lady and situate her with her new quarters. I wish to speak with her after Guardian Malphur and I catch up."

Vienna heard Shin sigh behind her and his gun sliding into its holster.

"I'm going to regret this."


End file.
